Christ

Christ / Messiah / Mashiach

It is no secret that the word / title we use in describing our redeemer, “Christ”, comes to us with some issues. Foremost of these issues is the simple fact that the word “Christ” is a Title, and not a name.
This is a surprise to many people! Worldwide, the word Christ, in many minds, is actually thought to be His last name (His surname). It is not!

In all of the documentation that I have found thus far, it has been noted that the Old Covenant word “Messiah” has been translated from the Hebrew, Mashiach, into the Greek, “kristos”/”Christ” throughout the New Covenant. My first question here though is, “Why did the translators from the original text erroneously translate the Hebrew word Mashiach, to kristos, and not to Messiah?

According to Webster’s Dictionary, “Transliteration means, to change (letters, words, etc,) into corresponding characters of another alphabet or language.” To transliterate means to find a word that “sounds-like”.

To translate, on the other hand, is to arrive at a word with the exact (or near-exact) meaning.

Moving from Mashiach to kristos, therefore, is not a correct translation, and sadly enough, it is a very poor transliteration as well.

I want you to know, by the way, that upon reading that description of the word “transliteration”, the hair on the back of my neck literally stood up! My eyes immediately focused on the word “CHANGE”, and my heart sank into a prayer for guidance.

Is the word, “Messiah” too difficult for us? Is the word Mashiach too specific or intense for us to grasp? Why was the word Mashiach transliterated, or very incorrectly translated throughout the Greek works of Scripture, from Messiah to kristos / Christ?

Personally, I have difficulty dealing with words that were originally presented in Hebrew, and which were (and are) then incorrectly transliterated into the Greek, through some mix of other cultures and/or languages, and then incorrectly translated again from whatever language into English. In the case of this particular word, the Hebrew title ascribed to YEHOSHUA (in English), should be Messiah. It must be Messiah!

Furthermore, when He walked among us, He was called The MASHIACH (MA-SHE-AHH), not Khristo’s, and certainly not Christ. I believe this is important…

We already know that a great many things were done before and during the assembly of our Bibles, either by the High Priests and Scribes of Yehudah (Judah), or by the Septuagint, when they translated the old Hebrew writings into Greek. Many things were done to appease, or not offend, and going back further, many things were done even to protect the Exalted Name from the heathen nations.

It is not the intent of The Exalted Name Bible™ to point fingers or lay blame upon anybody, or any group of people, for whatever human translation errors might exist within the Holy Scriptures. Our goal with this work, however, is simply to make straight the way to our Master!

The fact of His title though, (and it must be repeatedly pointed out that “Christ” or “Messiah” is just that, a title – or even better – a position of responsibility, and not an actual name), is that the correct interpretation should be Mashiach (MA-SHE-AHH), and it is that word which you will find properly used throughout The Exalted Name Bible™.

When we discuss the Messiah, without a connection to His Name, you will find that word alone. Therefore, He is: YEHOSHUA HA MASHIACH… (YEH-hO-SHU-AH HA MA SHE AH). Frequently, too, He is referred to as, or simply called, “Messiah”.